MicCheck Radio

Source: flickr/jwpacifist

Monday, March 15th

The Administration

• 10:30 a.m.: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers remarks to Haiti earthquake task force volunteers, State Department, DC
• 11:30AM: AG Eric Holder delivers remarks at the Justice Department's Open Government Event, DC
• 2PM : HHS head Kathleen Sebelius, with National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal, holds a conference call briefing on improving health care through information technology.

The Hill

• House: Budget committee starts markup on healthcare (and the reconciliation process begins)
• Senate: Cloture vote on House's $17.6 billion job creation package
• 5:30PM: House Armed Services SubCommittee - Hearing on legislative priorities in support of families.

The World

• Sunshine Week begins, a week celebrating open government and freedom of information.
• National League of Cities Congressional City Conference in Washington, DC
• The International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) 2010 Legislative Conference, Washington DC
• Stewart: Michael Lewis (author, "The Big Short")
• Colbert: Former CIA operative Robert Baer (author, "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower")

Today in "Huh?"

• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's wife is launching a "tea party" group designed to "organize activism around a set of conservative 'core principles'" and will somehow "be involved in the November election." Virgina Thomas's group, "Liberty Central Inc." will "accept donations from various sources -- including corporations -- as allowed under campaign finance rules recently loosened by the Supreme Court." Her bio also states "She is intrigued by Glenn Beck and listening carefully." [LA Times]

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Right Wing Wackiness

Source: flickr/tomjoad

Born in… some terrorist country?

You don't mess with The Boss.  Looks like Glen Beck didn't get the memo.

A song that's been played over speakers at hundreds of campaign rallies, vibrated in the space between drinks at everyone's favorite bar and set millions of heads nodding from radio stations coast to coast -- a piece of music that is literally stitched into the fabric of American blue-collar culture, Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA" -- is, according to right-wing pundit Glenn Beck, "anti-American" and "propaganda" that people must "wake up" from. [Rawstory]

Tags: right-wing, glenn beck, music

Just Plain Cool

My Laptop is Shaking

You know that feature on your iPhone that turns the screen from horizontal to vertical?  Well, apparently scientists think that that same feature, installed on a network of computers, can help be a warning for oncoming earthquakes. 

Seismologists say this technology could be used to “build a system that links ordinary computers into a seismic network.” Many laptops come with “accelerometers,” which are devices that detect movement, already built in and if not, they are cheap - about $50 - to install. [LA Times]

Tags: science

Money Money Money

Give Me My Money!

It's tax time, again, and this year your state refund check may take longer than usual this year. Because of state budgets crunches, many states are not immediately sending tax return checks out.  So even if you were good this year and did your taxes early, you still might not see that return for awhile.  How long?  Hawaii, for example, has said it might take up to five months to get returns out. [USA Today]

Tags: taxes

Just Plain Cool

Americans Love Cheese…and Chicken

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released an interesting study this week looking at food trends and statistics across the country called Your Food Environment Atlas.  The report draws from data that often get right down to the county level.  Looking at purchases over the last 100 years, it shows, among other tidbits, that Americans are cutting back on beef and milk but have beefed up on cheese and chicken.

Not surprisingly, soft-drink consumption has soared from about 15 gallons per person per year to about 45 gallons in the last half-century.  Quoting Tommy Boy, "I can hear you getting fatter!" [Chicago Tribune]

Tags: science

Political Junkie

Quote of the Day

"The president is a person, not a product. We shouldn’t be referring to him as a brand,” - David Axelrod to Desiree Rogers. There was tension between the two over the idea of “the Obama brand” and her role in promoting it, according to people informed about the conversation. [NYT]

Tags: white house, president obama

Right Wing Wackiness

Hush Money

Utah House Majority Leader Kevin Garn (R) admitted "to a nude hot tubbing incident with a teenage girl 25 years ago," for which he paid off the woman. Recently, the woman went public with the story, leading to Garn's admission. In his own words: "Years later, when I was running for Congress, she decided to bring this incident to the attention of the media. Shortly thereafter, my wife and I met with her, and at her demand, I paid her $150,000. While this payment felt like extortion, I also felt like I should take her word that the money would help her heal. She agreed to keep this 25-year-old incident confidential. Now that this issue is coming up again, it is apparent to me that this payment was also a mistake." No, really? Paying off a woman with whom you had a nude hot tubbing incident was a bad call? [Deseret News]

Tags: republican

Political Junkie

Source: flickr/chepenicoli

Viva Mexico

First Lady Michelle Obama will make her first solo trip in April to Mexico City, Mexico. During the visit, she will visit with young people, and work with Mexican First Lady Margarita Zavala de Calderon on the issues of economic engagement and advancement in both countries. If only they were a bit closer to the beach, they could do a tourism push...[Time]

Tags: mexico

Health & Wellness

HEALTH CARE REFORM NOW

President Obama is pushing back his trip to Asia, which was previously planned for March 18, by three days. AP says Obama is delaying his trip in order to focus on passing a health care bill.  [USA T]

Tags: reform

Safe, Sound, Secure

Source: flickr/US Army Korea

RISE IN ARMY SUICIDES

According to the Army,  nearly 14 active-duty soldiers killed themselves in February, a slight increase from the month before. Officials reported 12 suspected suicides in January. Of the 14 reported deaths, one has been confirmed as a suicide and the others remain under investigation. (About 90 percent of these cases typically are ruled to be suicides, accoring go to Army officials.) [Army Times]

Tags: iraq war, aghanistan

Star Gazing

Source: picasaweb/LA100RRA

CALLING DR. IZZIE ON LINE ONE

It seems the beloved TV drama "Grey's Anatomy" may never be the same. According to sources, star Katherine Heigl, who plays Dr. Izzie Stevens, hasn't been seen at work in nearly two weeks. Heigl was scheduled to return to the set March 1 after three months of maternity leave, but “she was not there,” a source close to the situation told People magazine. Speculation has been mounting that Heigl is off the show for good after six years to focus on her movie career. [People]

Tags: scandals

And Justice For All

PARDON ME

Several men in Kentucky are working to clear the names of several slave rescuers, whose so-called "crimes" today would be recognized as heroic acts. The men are calling on Gov. Steve Beshear to issue pardons for the men and women who helped rescue slaves, albeit posthumously. "I want to resurrect their names and deeds and give them their proper place in history," said James Prichard, 56, a retired state archivist who spent much of his career studying slavery in Kentucky.  The idea for the pardons stemmed from a display at Frankfort's Capital City Museum that mentioned the crime of slave stealing. [Mcclatchy]

Tags: rights

Just Plain Cool

Charity Begins At Home

President Obama received $1.4 milllion in prize money for winning the Nobel Peace Prize this year. While we'd probably blow the whole thing on iPhone apps and Mad Men Barbies, POTUS selected ten charities and divvied it all up among them. Among the chosen charities: The Bush-Clinton Haiti Fund ($200K), the Fisher House to benefit veterans' families ($250K), the Hispanic College Fund ($125K) and The Posse Foundation which finds public high school students with great potential but who may be overlooked by the traditional college selection process ($125K). Click the link to see the rest of the list. [Washington Post]

Tags: potus, charity, nobel peace prize

Health & Wellness

Source: flickr/thomashawkr

It’s 3PM - Do You Know What Your Kids Are Huffing?

This afternoon in "Why We're Terrified Of Today's Tweens" news, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has a new report on how the precious little snowflakes are getting wasted. According to the survey, more 12-year-olds in the U.S. "get high by sniffing inhalants than by using marijuana, cocaine or hallucinogens combined." That's right, the kids are inhaling "refrigerant from air conditioning units, aerosol computer cleaners, shoe polish, glue, air fresheners, hair sprays, nail polish, paint solvents, degreasers, gasoline and lighter fluids" to catch a buzz, unaware that "huffing" can kill them, destroy their organs, or at least damage their brains to the point they suffer from uncontrollable limb spasms and/or dementia. [CBS News]

Tags: drugs, teens

Just Plain Cool

Source: flickr/aaronlandrey

Netroots Nation

Bloggers of the world, rejoice! Sen. Al Franken (D., MN), who transitioned from funny radio talker to serious lawmaker in front of our very eyes, will be the keynote speaker at this year's Netroots Nation, the huge conference for progressive bloggers. The event is happening July 22-25 in Las Vegas and tickets are still available. [Politico]

Tags: blogs

Safe, Sound, Secure

Big Old Jet Airliner

The Government Accountability Office just finished their audit into the project to build a fleet of new Joint Strike Fighter jets...and the news isn't good. GAO top analyst Michael Sullivan testified in front of the Senate Armed Services Committee that the contract with Lockheed Martin is way over budget and way behind schedule, which means there is a "substantial risk" there won't be as many jets as promised and they won't be delivered on time. (The "cost of the program has increased $46 billion over the 2007 baseline of $276.5 billion and that development is 2 1/2 years behind schedule.") [Washington Post]

Tags: jets, defense contractors

Full-Court Press

Source: flickr/kevindooley

In God We Trust

Plus we've already memorized the thing...: A federal appeals court in San Francisco said it's fine to say "under God" in the Pledge and to keep "In God We Trust" on our money because, honestly, at this point "the phrase is ceremonial and patriotic, not religious" and thus doesn't violate the separation of church and state. [San Francisco Chronicle]

Tags: church and state, courts

Just Plain Cool

NEWSFLASH: Men Love Sex

Tell me something I didn't know!  Men want sex until they’re almost dead. That’s what British researchers concluded after "discovering" that men are more interested in sex than women. Seems like this one could have been a pretty short study.  And now we have scientific evidence for the "creepy old man," the disparity between genders only increases over time. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

Tags: sex

Safe, Sound, Secure

What Money?

Here comes a flashback - the State Department is failing to properly oversee nearly $2 billion in contracts to battle the drug trade, build infrastructure and train police in Afghanistan, according to a bluntly worded internal assessment.  De ja vu?  Didn't we read about this with another war?

The report by the department's inspector general questions whether the U.S. will be able to stabilize the country in time to meet President Obama's goal of withdrawing some troops by June 2011. [USA Today]

Tags: afghanistan, budget, contractors, money

Just Plain Cool

Source: flickr/split-milk

Finger Food

Remeber that lady who pretended she found a finger in our Wendy's chili and sued?  She's spilling the beans, now (sort of a pun, right?)  The woman says she paid $100 for the ring finger and cooked it in a pot of her own chili to get it to the correct temperature and texture; Wendy’s estimates they lost over $21 million in business over the fraud. The 41-year-old woman is now out of jail and says part of her parole includes a lifetime ban from the fast food chain. [San Jose Mercury News]

Tags: prisons

Political Junkie

Big Brother in the Dairy Section

How cool/creepy is this?  The CDC has a new way to track food-borne illnesses: your customer loyalty cards. Because the cards track all purchases by customers at the particular chains, the agency was able to trace a recent outbreak of salmonella by looking at the sales records. Some consumer advocates say they worry that the CDC’s successful detective work could make such cards mandatory in the check-out lane.  We say why wouldn't you want to get to the end of your scanning and then see all the savings tick off one after the other? [Star Tribune]

Tags: surveillance

Political Junkie

POLITICAL RED CARPET

Tags: president, veterans, white house

Money Money Money

PUSHBACK FROM MAIN ST.

In the aftermath of the bank bailout and bonus debacle, a majority of Americans want tougher regulations on Wall Street, according to a new poll. The new Harris poll released today suggest that 82 percent of Americans want the government to "clamp down more strongly on Wall Street excesses, with a particular emphasis on bonus schemes." However, the poll did find that the U.S. public does see value in Wall Street itself: nearly 60 percent say the financial sector is an essential benefit to the country.

Tags: banking, finance

The Global Scene

Source: flickr/venetia joubert sarah

CRISIS IN ZIMBABWE

On Thursday, the Red Cross announced that nearly 2.17 million people in Zimbabwe need food aid. Figures are expected to rise because of a poor harvest this year , that has declared at least 11 percent of the country's staple maize crop "a complete write-off" because of poor rains. The Red Cross aims to feed 222,000 people and has extended its emergency food operation from December 2009 until October this year. [AFP]

Tags: humanitarian aid, africa

Just Plain Cool

Source: USGov/USGov

WHEN ARI MET TIGER?

According to two sources, Ari Fleischer, the former spokesman to former President George W. Bush, has been "huddling" with Tiger Woods,  helping the golfer plot "a strategy for his return to golf -- at the Arnold Palmer Invitational starting March 25 at Bay Hill in Orlando." The duo has definitely grown close: According to one source, Tiger and Ari were spotted "in his living room this week going over a strategy for how to handle Bay Hill in two weeks." Only time will tell. [Political Wire]

Tags: sports, bush

Just Plain Cool

SAFETY PAYS ON THE HIGHWAY

There's good news for highway drivers: U.S. highway deaths have fallen to their lowest levels since 1954, declining nearly 9 percent in 2009, to 33,963.  In 2008, an estimated 37,261 people died on the highway. Highway deaths have dropped steadily since 2005, when an estimated 43,510 people were killed. [USA T]

Tags: informational studies and reports

Political Junkie

Mitt’s Bestseller

Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology: The Case for American Greatness," will debut on top of the New York Times bestseller list due out March 21 according to a source. So far, his book tour has attracted large crowds, sometimes over 1,000. While not on par with Sarah Palin's book tours, Romney supporters are taking the tour numbers as a sign that he's a figure of genuine popular interest. [Politico]

Tags: republican

And Justice For All

Backing Down

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) was for removing rights and protections from LGBT workers...until he got caught up in a firestorm of negative press. First, the governor removed all legal protections for LGBT state employees. Then, the Attorney General, Ken Cuccinelli, tried to strip protections for LGBT students from all state colleges and university non-discrimination policies, a policy which Gov. McDonnell said he supported. Many college students protested, local and national new outlets broadcast the story, and now Gov. McDonnell has issued a new directive, publicly distancing himself from the effort. Let's clear this up guys: LGBT Virginians are equal citizens, and should be protected under the law. [Wonk Room]

Tags: lgbt

Green Is Good

Believing in Global Warming

...or not, as the case may be. A new Gallup poll found that 48% of Americans now believe that the seriousness of global warming is "generally exaggerated," up from 41% in 2009 and 31% in 1997, when Gallup first asked the question. [Gallup]

Tags: climate change

Right Wing Wackiness

Representative Paul Ryan

Quote of the Day

"It’s difficult to design a tax plan that will lose $2 trillion over a decade even while requiring 90 percent of taxpayers to pay more. But Congressman Ryan has met that daunting challenge".--Citizens for Tax Justice report. [The Atlantic]  Ed note: the rich would overwhelmingly benefit from Ryan’s tax cuts. By 2014 people making in excess of $1 million-a-year would enjoy an average tax cut of more than $600,000. To put it another way, their after-tax income would rise by nearly 30 percent.

Tags: taxes

Source: flickr/jwpacifist

Thursday, March 11

White House

11:15 AM: POTUS addresses the Export-Import Bank's Annual Conference to discuss his commitment to doubling exports in five years
1:45 PM: POTUS meets with members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
3PM: POTUS meets with Sens. Chuck Schumer and Lindsey Graham.
6:20PM: POTUS meets with members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

On The Hill

10AM: Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee - hearing on "A Fair Share for All: Pay Equity in the New American Workplace."
10AM: Senate Energy Committee hearing on Energy Efficiency Jobs

Other Cool Stuff

12:15: Elizabeth Warren, the chair of the TARP Congressional Oversight Panel, delivers a speech on regulatory reform at the New America Foundation, Washington, DC
Jimmy Fallon: Michael Moore
Stewart : Eamon Javers, author, Broker, Trader, Lawyer, Spy: The Secret World of Corporate Espionage
Colbert: David Aaronovitch, author, Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History

Fun Time Waster To Start Your Day

Have you seen this yet? Sign in with your Facebook account and you can put yourself on Glenn Beck's blackboard. Way too much fun. http://bit.ly/anreeU

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